Legacy of Sparda
by Blade of Sparda
Summary: You've heard of it haven't you? The Legend of Sparda? No? Perhaps through a different title, The Tale of The Sage of Six Paths? AU DMCxover
1. Prologue

**Welcome to my second rendition of my first ever story ****Devils Retribution****. After years of dormancy, I wanted to give you all a taste of what's to come. With college and work taking up most of my time, updates will be scattered but I hope to keep them coming.**

**For any fans of my old Naruto stories, I will be taking them down and possibly redo some.**

**I don't really know when this story idea popped into my head, but I guess it was when I saw a picture of the Rikudo Sennin and thought, 'he kinda looks like Dante'. And poof, this story was born. I now present to you all, ****Legacy of Sparda****. This is basically where my original story was going to be heading but with an actual plot this time.**

**There will be bending of the time stream, notice the AU in the summary, and technically Naruto will be a girl although Nero, my main character, will be my Naruto. Don't like it, don't read. The universe is basically Naruto with demons running around and plenty of alterations to the timeline. Especially since the Naruto timeline itself is confusing and contradictory. I will try to be as original as possible but there will be aspects taken from other anime or TV shows. **

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing and never will. Seriously. The only reason I'm here is cause the Saints didn't make the playoffs, my PS3 is busted, and there is only so many times a man can get friction burn before realizing he has a serious problem.**

**XxXxXxXxX**

_Every story, every rumor, every lie contains a kernel of truth._

_For every tale of heroic exploits, there is a file where the accounts of the mission lay undisturbed._

_For every word of advice, there is lifetime of failure._

_And behind every legend, there stands a stubborn idiot that didn't know any better than to never give up._

_Legends never last long in the world of shinobi; they are only human after all and prone to human mistakes. Once a shinobi reaches legendary status, the realization sets in, when standing on the summit of the mountain, everyone at the base looks up to take your place. No shinobi worth their salt wants to become a legend, they wish to remain anonymous and faceless, you live longer that way. _

_For the last page of every legend is stained crimson by men seeking to stake their claim in history as 'legend killers.'_

_One legend, however, is different than all the rest, a legend that transcends time._

_Now children, would you like to hear the story about the man behind the legend? Not the lies of story tellers, the truth, the tale of a young boy with more heart than brains battling against the world to keep his loved ones alive. Yes? Good. _

_Alas to truly understand his story, to truly comprehend the magnitude of how much he sacrificed and the trials he overcame to become a legend, I must start from the beginning. Not his beginning, but the very beginning of the world he lived in, the world of shinobi. We must begin with the end of one world and all it entailed._

_The history of shinobi is long, complicated, bloody (very bloody), and full of inaccuracies. Shinobi by nature live in the present, (we find it incredibly difficult to learn from our mistakes and we all believe we're the greatest thing since the invention of the kunai). Despite the countless amount of shinobi wallowing in the past, ninja tend to give our history the bare minimum of attention. Ironic no?_

_History has been left to be passed down through word of mouth for centuries in the form of tall tales. These stories are all we have and details can understandably become sketchy over time. Truth tends to blend together with fiction until both are undistinguishable from one another. _

_Thousands of stories and myths were created to fill the void caused by the lack of recollection of our origins. Difficult questions such as 'Where did chakra come from?' and 'Who was the first shinobi?' all have multiple fabricated myths created in a vain attempt to rationalize the mysteries of our world. It's been said that an ancient race of human beings did the same thing, creating legends of powerful gods and warriors to answer the most difficult of questions Mother Nature has left us._

_Different kamis and legends have been adapted, discarded, and then forgotten, while we humans struggled to make sense of the confusing, and bloody, world we live in. The irony in the search for the origins of chakra and shinobi is the fact that we knew it the entire time. One legend withstood the ravages of time, the truth, and as it whispered into our ears all the correct answers to our questions, we chose to ignore it. The legend was too outlandish and childish. The truth turned out to be more fairytale than the fiction._

_You've heard of it, haven't you?_

_The Legend of Sparda?_

_The Legendary Dark Knight, The Savior of Humanity, The Fallen Angel, The Harbinger of Justice._

_Ring any bells?_

_No? Well his true name was never common knowledge. How about through another title, the Rikudo Sennin?_

_You know, 'The Legend of the Sage of the Six Paths' creator of ninjutsu and all that rubbish? Yes? Good._

_I have spent years separating fact from fiction and I still only possess half of the story. The first time I heard the legend was when I was young and my grandfather would tell me stories about him. I never believed them. In the world of shinobi, fairytales exist only to give us a vain hope of justice and destiny and all that bullshit. We read about princes saving princesses from dragons and grow up believing in justice. We think the world is in black and white and that good always triumphs over evil. We hold on desperately to this vain belief until the day we finally lose our grip in this grey world of ours. My grandfather read me this story hundreds of times and yet I never once believed him. But if any of my childhood stories had to be real, why not this one?_

_More than two millennia ago, before Hidden Villages, before the Shinobi Nations, before even chakra, we lived in a peaceful world. Humans were still a young and fragile race then. We didn't possess any noteworthy physical abilities or talents. Mindboggling no? Mankind, however, overcame their natural deficiencies and created wonders beyond what we shinobi are capable of using naught but their minds. Man built flying machines capable of reaching even the moon, buildings that ascended into the heavens, and could even kill millions with the mere press of a button._

_Although perfect by no means, these were times of little bloodshed, by our standards of course, and were somewhat peaceful. Humans lived among other humans without constant fear for their lives and children could laugh and play like they were always meant to. But these periods of peace never truly last in the world of man and inevitably a group of tyrants rose up to spread malice and discontent across the globe._

_These men banded together to terrorize their fellow man and sought to conquer the entire world. They were deemed a minor threat and mocked for their foolish desires by the rest of society. The men, outraged by the blasé attitude of their peers, vowed to bring the entire planet to its knees. Their thirst for power led them to stumble upon the existence of demons and the realm where these monstrous creatures of tremendous power reside. These men lusted after the powers of the demons and attempted to summon the demons into our world using human sacrifice and archaic summoning rituals. After years of spilling innocent blood and committing unforgivable sins in the name of demons, one answered their prayers._

_Makai, the demon world, is a world in a state of eternal war. There is no sun to shine on the blood soaked plains inside Makai. It is forever cast in shadow, where the monstrosities of the demon realm belong. Demons endlessly slaughter and devour one another, vainly struggling to rise in rank and gain a semblance of human intellect. A demon, created in the deepest and darkest pit of Makai, named Mundus sought to rule all of Makai. He grew in power, ruthlessly slaughtering everything in his path, and became the Ruler of the Demon World, the Prince of Darkness, in a blink of an eye._

_After conquering Makai and devouring all whom opposed him, he soon grew bored with his realm and the demons it contained; he wanted a foe to slaughter and no demon was stupid enough to challenge him. His thirst for new blood to shed led him to stumble upon the blood soaked prayers of the group of sinners._

_Mundus appeared before them and told them the secret of the path between the realms. "In exchange for your souls." He told them. "I will conquer the humans and grant you the eternal power you seek." The fools agreed and Mundus tore their willing souls from their bodies. Using the souls of the seven sinners, Mundus formed a portal for his army of nightmares to enter the human world. _

_Quickly overrun with demons, the global population plummeted in mere days. Not even the most powerful weapons and machines mankind possessed could protect them from the endless swarm of horrid creatures Mundus commanded. Rivers ran red with blood and the land became littered with the rotting corpses of billions. Mundus held no remorse for mankind and only wished to seek its destruction._

_But when all hope seemed lost, the unthinkable happened…_

_A devil knight, one of Mundus's most powerful warriors, discovered a human woman. A woman of such radiance and beauty Sparda wept at the site of her, for he knew Mundus would wish to annihilate this vision of angelic perfection. Sparda hid the woman from Mundus's ever watchful gaze and kept her safe. His treachery discovered, Sparda faced an ultimatum; turn his back on his own kind or kill the woman._

_Sparda could not bring himself to hurt his beloved and thus turned on his demon brethren. He fought against the armies he once led and single-handedly wiped them out. Soon he was at Mundus's doorstep, ready to liberate humanity from his reign of terror. But Mundus had other plans._

_Mixing his own demonic essence with the Earth's natural energy, Mundus created a being of unfathomable power, the Juubi. A pure destructive force of nature capable of destroying entire realms, even Mundus feared the power of this nightmare given corporeal form. Its very aura caused fear and hopelessness to envelop every living being on the planet. Sparda himself was shaken to the very core with fear for the hellish beast. Despite his terror, Sparda faced the mighty beast for humanity, for his beloved._

_For forty days and forty nights, these two behemoths fought, one for chaos, the other for humanity. The battle forever scarred the very landscape and no living thing, man or demon, could safely glimpse their battle without being vaporized by the tremendous energies released. Sparda soon grew weary in his fight with the behemoth; even his own vast abilities had reached their extent. Sparda knew he would soon fall and thus committed the ultimate sacrifice. _

_To save the human race, a race that hated and feared him, he sold his soul and sacrificed the soul of his beloved to seal the Juubi within his own flesh. Sparda became the first ever Jinchuuriki, the Power of Human Sacrifice. He gathered the empty husk of the Juubi and sealed it within the moon where it would forever look down upon the world it nearly destroyed, out of reach of both man and demon kind._

_With the power of the Juubi and the pain of a broken heart fueling his rage, he defeated Mundus and stripped him of his powers. Using his and Mundus's combined might, he slammed shut the portal between our realms. Giving up his demonic immortality and powers, Sparda formed a seal to keep the evil entity locked away._

_As humanity celebrated their survival, their savior came to the body of his beloved and wept for her. To keep mankind from ever forgetting her sacrifice, he created an image of her perfection in the stars. Mankind would only have to look up into the heavens to see the image of the angel that had saved their race. It is even said he formed the heavens to give her soul a place to rest._

_This is the legend of how a devil named Sparda awoke to justice and saved mankind from an inevitable extinction. It sounds strange doesn't it? A tale of a demon saving the world for love is a story that belongs in the pages of a children's book. _

_But there is still so much to the story to be told._

_Despite the loss of his beloved, Sparda cared for the humans and watched over the shaky peace brought about by his victory. However our realm and the demon realm had grown too close after the invasion. Demons soon began to reenter the human world, slipping through the newly formed cracks between the realms, and mankind's existence was once again in peril. Sparda protected the humans with every ounce of energy in his body, but he knew eventually he would not be there to fight the battle for them. _

_His body, weakened from containing the Juubi and the loss of his demonic essence, began to give in to the ravages of time. To allow humankind to continue to rebuild, Sparda blessed the humans with chakra. He preached to mankind the ways of peace and love in an effort to prevent conflict among the humans as he granted us with our greatest weapon, jutsu. He taught us how to use chakra for powerful techniques and how to control Devil Arm, weapons created from the essence of powerful demons._

_Sparda's time soon drew near and he secluded himself from the world. Sparda knew the Juubi possessed too much power to be allowed to roam free and no mere human could hope to contain it. He instead split the Juubi into nine separate entities and titled them Biju. He gave each Biju their own individual names and spent his remaining days training them to control their monstrous power. As he faded from this world he gave the Biju a mission to follow until the day they would become one again._

_The day he passed it is said the heavens split open and wept for the loss of its savior. Every single living being felt his passing and sang his praises as they mourned. Humanity, to never forget how close to extinction they came, celebrate the coming of a new year the day of Sparda's passing. _

_The legend of Sparda faded into obscurity as the world continued on without him. The war between mankind and the demons soon overtook all priorities, including maintaining their own history. The legend of Sparda became nothing more than fairy tale and with the passage of time facts became lost. Soon even Sparda's name fell into obscurity and his legend became simply known as 'The Tale of the Rikudou Sennin'. _

_Such a beautiful and heartwarming story right? In fact, too heartwarming. This story is just too much of a fairytale to be true, but I learned the truth, the true story all behind the bullshit and lies._

_How I know the truth you ask?_

_Well, it started when I found a startling fact._

_Sparda existed._

_The little voice of doubt in the back of my mind, the voice that stubbornly held onto my childhood beliefs, made me question if he really didn't exist until I was chasing down facts and realized his existence. There is still so much of the legend I have not yet uncovered, but I will. Still the fact is lies and truth can be mistaken for each other, especially when the legend is two thousand years old. I cannot even say whether everything I have told you so far is true, but it's as close as I can get it. Thankfully his legacy lives on in his stories…_

_And in his children._

_Preposterous it seemed, until I met one that is._

_A descendant of Sparda._

_And not just any Sparda, the Last of the Sparda. He was nothing and everything like the Sparda from the storybook. He was a mortal boy living with a curse and the burden of his inheritance. Growing up in the harsh and unforgiving world of shinobi, his tale is not yet complete but already his reputation precedes him._

_You should know of him…_

_This is_ his_ story after all._

**XxXxXxXxX**_  
_

**Quick reminder, I am looking for a beta to help me out with this story, fix some spelling mistakes and help with grammar, little things like that.**

**Remember to Review!**

**Constructive Criticism is appreciated and Flamers will be shown the door. Thank You!**

**Blade of Sparda Out.**

(Edited 8/29/13)


	2. Chapter 1

**XxXxXxXxX**

_It feels strange writing this story, probably because it's not my story to tell and I'm as captivated and unsure about what happens next as you are. Most of the time I feel I'm as much the writer of this story as the ink brush. The fact I'm only writing this because of a stupid bet just makes this entire situation all the more strange to me. _

_It all started with this drunk old pervert I ran into claiming his perverted books were the greatest thing to have graced the lands since the invention of the kunai and I, idiotically, disagreed. He then challenged me to write something superior to his so-called 'literature.'_

_I decided to do so, if only to shut him up, god he's so annoying, and persistent to boot. So I grabbed a brush__,__ sat down, planned to put the old fart in his place, and then it hit me, I didn't know the first thing about writing literature. I waited weeks for some sort of divine intervention where everything would click together like puzzle pieces and I would suddenly be stricken with a wave of inspiration so powerful, I would be compelled to write until my fingers bled. _

_Yeah, no, all I got was the occasional migraine from thinking so much._

_I ended up settling on just writing about myself and my life, I obviously knew it well enough and I figured it was somewhere to start, and it soon progressed into writing about my friends and family and a bit about their lives. Things just sort of snowballed from there and I found myself a day later writing about Konoha and the entirety of our rich history of powerful shinobi and our Will of Fire._

_But in doing so, I noticed a name, a mere footnote in our history, shrouded in mystery that grabbed hold of my attention and just would not let go. _

_Sparda. _

_Hardly noticeable or relevant to our history at first glance; most of the Sparda had died off before Konoha was even built. However a little tidbit caught my eye, a single sentence in a scroll, almost ignored as the bland writing of the author was causing my brain cells to commit suicide. 'During the Era of Warring States there were four clans considered by all as the strongest, the Senju, the Uchiha, the Hagoromo, & the Sparda. Of these clans, the Uchiha, the Senju, and the Sparda went on to found Konohagakure, the first Shinobi Hidden Village.' _

_I was intriguied and searched for more history on the clan, and found none._

_Zilch. Nada. Bupkis._

_It was truly astonishing how a clan as well-respected as the Senju or Uchiha could ever become so forgotten in our history, let alone not even worthy of a sentence in most history texts. Looking into the scraps of information we had about the clan, I realized this was the inspiration I was waiting for, this clan we knew next to nothing about and yet was so entwined with the history of Konoha. _

_I read every history text in Konoha and scourged for some more, before asking some of the old timers what they knew about the Sparda Clan and through them I learned quite a bit. The Sparda were once renowned as the Shinobi Nation's proverbial boogeymen and for very good reason. Said to be directly descended from the Sage himself, the clan gained notoriety due to their demonic Kekkei Genkai. Capable of utilizing Devil Arm in battle with an inhuman ease and regarded as 'unkillable', their blood feud with the Hagoromo was second only to the Senju and Uchiha. The clan was eradicated less than a decade before the founding of Konohagakure and the details behind their destruction is unknown._

_Some of the survivors joined the Senju and helped found Konoha. After that, the clan seems to just fade away. Although forgotten in our history books, their impact still resonates. _

_The opinions on the clan from the citizens of Konoha, both ninja and civilian alike, are quite negative towards the clan. In fact, many didn't even know the Sparda actually helped found Konohagakure; many simply believed a few stragglers wormed their way in after it was built. The general consensus about the Sparda is they were bloodthirsty demons walking around in human skin and just waiting for a chance to slip a knife in between our ribs. _

_I was floored, these people grew up with the ever present threat of demons lurking just outside the safety of their walls, there probably wasn't a single member of Konoha over the age of twelve that hadn't personally seen and/or slayed a demon, and a Sparda was considered no better than these mindless creatures. This was the type of fear the clan generated, despite consisting of near single digit members over the past century combined._

_As my research of the clan's history reached dead end after dead end, my focus finally shifted toward the remaining members of the clan and the only one still residing in Konoha. His name is Nero Angelo Sparda and I then realized who the focal point of my story would be. This would be the story of the Last Sparda living in a village that despised his very existence, for reasons beyond his control._

_I never thought much about this book as I continued it over the years, it became less about the bet and more a stupid little hobby to keep myself distracted. But watching Nero grow, watching him struggle through everything life threw his way; it became clear there was something else about him, some strange presence he possessed that made him impossible to ignore._

_I tried writing about other things, but nothing could hold my attention like Nero's story could. Soon it became more and more evident, not just to me, but to everyone, this kid was going to change the world._

_And here I am, wasting another perfectly good Friday evening, to share with you all, the tale of Nero Angelo Sparda and the man behind the legend._

**XxXxXxXxX**

_This kid will be special one day, you hear me?_

_Tch, of course I know for sure. In fact, I guaran-damn-tee it._

_Well, it's just that, every great shinobi I've ever known, including you Old Man, had a dream, a burning passion fueling them to persevere and achieve. In this world you need a dream to become great, talent can only give you a head start, you won't finish the race without working your ass off. And just working hard ain't gonna cut it either. You can work hard all your life, never give anything less than one hundred percent, and you'll die just another faceless shinobi. It takes a dream and the guts to never give up on that dream to push beyond your limits and be more than just another ninja._

_And I see it, the same spark that burns in both me and you, the Will of Fire, the same drive to be great, I see it already in his eyes, it's there. I don't know what his dream will be, I don't know what or who he'll decide to fight for, but I know he'll find something, he'll find his purpose and he'll never let anyone get in his way, come hell or high water._

_This kid will be a legend. His name will be whispered in awe around camp fires, he'll be idolized through stories of his accomplishments and little kids will grow up trying to be just like him, he'll burn a path through our history and record books and future generations will know _The_ Nero Angelo Sparda was here. He's gotta long ways to go, but I know he'll do it, he just needs to find a reason to be great, and the rest will fall into place._

_Striving to accomplish my dream drove me to become the shinobi, no the man, I am today. And he'll become an even greater man than I, I know it._

_I'm telling you Gramps, I can see it. It's in his eyes, just look at them._

_Look, I know he's not even a full hour old, I know every-damn-body probably thinks the same damn thing about their kids, but I _know _he'll be great. I can feel it in my bones Hiruzen-sensei; he's gonna be a legend greater than even the Sage, that's a guaran-damn-tee._

_He takes after me after all._

_-The last words of Dante Sparda spoken to Hiruzen Sarutobi, October 10th 2000_

**XxXxXxXxX**

Ever since its formation over sixty years ago, Konohagakure has remained at the top of the Hidden Village food chain with its production of less insane and more powerful ninja than any other village. It withstood three world wars, an insane Kyuubi-powered Uchiha, countless demons, and became synonymous with strength and perseverance since its inception. Their current leader, the Yondaime Hokage, is the single most feared and respected man on the entire planet. His battle prowess in the past war led his enemies to label him an SSS-rank threat and to flee on sight of the blonde-haired devil.

He's taken on insurmountable odds and came out victorious every single time. He laughs at the sight of danger and spits in the Shinigami's face. There is no force in existence that Minato Namikaze, The Yondaime Hokage, A-Once-In-A-Millennia-Genius, and Konoha's Yellow Flash fears.

"AAAARGH! GOD DAMN IT MINATO YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH I WILL KILL YOU FOR THIS, DATTEBANE!"

Well maybe one…

Kushina Uzumaki, the redheaded 'secret' wife of Minato Namikaze, currently undergoing the joys of child-birth, finds herself very displeased with her present situation and 'healthily' expresses her dissatisfaction and frustrations onto her blue-eyed husband. With the amount of death threats, swear words, and creative suggestions of where Minato can shove his special kunai, many would have begun to fear for their lives, especially considering the woman's prowess in the art of creative and rather embarrassing killings. Her latest work had left a group of Kusa nin unable to even look at a pair of chopsticks, or a pregnant woman for that matter, without sobbing uncontrollably.

Minato took it all in stride with nothing more than a sheepish grin and a helpless shrug. There wasn't anything more Minato could do to dull the pain for Kushina other than keeping the Kyuubi no Kitsune under lock and key. He forced more chakra to reinforce the seal as he could feel the contractions getting closer and much more intense.

His giddiness at becoming a father only kept in check by his worry over Kushina and her health. The Kyuubi was the most powerful of the Biju for a reason and childbirth in general wasn't a walk in the park any day. Minato remembered two weeks ago when he comforted Shikaku while Yoshino gave birth. She screamed like her skin was on fire and Shikaku wasn't faring much better considering she squeezed his hand during the entire thing. When all was said and done, Shikaku needed surgery to fix the multiple fractures in his hand. With labor on top of the Kyuubi fighting to get out, there wasn't a shinobi alive willing to trade places with her and Minato made damn sure the fiery redhead he made his wife wasn't going to latch onto him and break something.

Nevertheless, by her side he stayed, ever supporting and never letting up in his efforts to contain the Kyuubi. Biwako, wife of his predecessor Hiruzen, already chewed him out once for being distracted by Kushina's pain and he did not want to get scolded again. Biwako's vindictive tongue held a legendary status within the walls of Konoha, Minato had once heard a rumor there had been genin whom made the moronic mistake of asking her for directions and less than a minute later was left a sobbing wreck. With his thoughts and the amount of chakra being released dulling his senses, a figure cloaked in shadow snuck into the room undetected.

Kushina let out a new bout of curses which left Minato blushing and shaking his head. He opened his mouth to placate her before snapping it shut with a click, someone had managed to sneak in, damn it where were the Anbu when he needed them. He silently cursed the fact his hands were preoccupied with Kushina's seal and began to formulate a plan of action. A familiar cocky voice broke the silence between Kushina's cries of pain.

"Whoa Kushina, way more than I ever expected or wanted to see."

The intruder had one hand raised to block his line of vision, the other caring a bundle wrapped in a blanket. His messy snow-white tresses slightly covered his sky blue eyes as he looked up at a particularly interesting crack on the ceiling. Fingerless black gloves, black shinobi sandals, black pants with a red tint, a fishnet shirt, and a tight black vest adorned his muscular frame. Thrown over this assembly of clothing were a blood-red trench coat and a black Konoha forehead protector used as a belt.

Ignoring Kushina's curses of 'a perverted albino fuck sneaking a peek', the intruder tilted his neck to look at Minato with his hand blocking his vision of Kushina's… womanhood.

"Damn Minato, you gotta chill bro, you're looking pretty tense." Minato gave a slight smirk in response. The man glanced between his fingers at Kushina's face. "Hey Kushina, how ya doin?" He asked with a cocky grin.

"I'M HAVING A BABY YOU FUCKING PRICK! AARGH! HOW THE FUCK DO YOU THINK I'M DOING! I'M IN PAIN!"

The man looked taken back and whispered, "Alright damn, testy much."

"WHAT WAS THAT YOU COCK-SUCKING SHITHEAD!?"

"Nothing."

"THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT MOTHERFUCKER!"

The man let out a chuckle and Minato only shook his head at the antics of the two. "Try not to tease her Dante she is going through a lot of pain." "DAMN RIGHT, DATTEBANE!"

Dante waved off the concern, approached the side of Kushina Minato wasn't on, and he turned his attention to the bundle he carried. Minato looked over in interest and surprise adorned his features as he realized what his ex-teammate was carrying.

"She really just let you take the baby Dante?"

Dante smirked, "Hell no, she'd kick my ass from here to Suna before _letting_ me take the baby."

Minato gave him a confused look before realizing what his ex-teammate implied. He would have face-palmed if his hands were free; it was so like Dante to just take the baby without permission for a 'joyride', he settled for shaking his head.

"What's his name?" Minato questioned, Dante hummed and gained a thoughtful look.

"Not sure yet, didn't really think about it till now." As Minato stared at him incredulously, Dante rubbed his scruffy chin in contemplation, "I think Nero would be good, yeah, Nero Angelo Sparda now there's a badass name."

Minato shook his head once again and meant to fire a retort, before Kushina's latest contraction and consequential scream garnered his immediate attention. Her skin had grown pale, much too pale, and sweat began to soak through her clothes.

Minato let out a curse and began to push as much chakra as possible to reinforce the seal. "Kyuubi you stay in there, Naru come on out already!" A pair of gloved hands covered his and Minato looked up into the confident blue eyes of Dante.

"It looks like you need a hand, or two." Dante said, channeling his own chakra into the seal, "The Kyuubi is one persistent bastard, I'll give him that."

Strangely enough, the Kyuubi seemed to disagree as its struggles for freedom began to wane. The two shinobi had no time to ponder on the beast's sudden passiveness as Kushina's screams reached their apex. All attempts made to pacify her by Biwako and the men fell on deaf ears as Kushina let lose an extremely graphic tirade of curses and threats. The redhead then let out one last ear-piercing scream before the entire cave became silent.

An unnatural stillness filled the cave, before being shattered by the loud cries of a newborn. Minato and Dante let out simultaneous sighs of relief as Kushina gasped for breath. Dante whispered to Minato with his ever-present cocky grin plastered across his face, "You really think she'd use a mouse and spoon like that Minato?" Minato guffawed, but said nothing as Biwako announced, "It's a girl!" and Kushina's squealed in delight.

Biwako performed several minor jutsu to clean the young child before handing her to her exhausted mother. Minato attempted to grab her midway, but his hands were slapped away unceremoniously as Biwako fixed him a fierce glare.

"The mother should always be the first one to hold the child, Minato-kun. Surely you wouldn't want to take away Kushina's inherent right as a mother Minato-kun?" Biwako's tone booked no room for argument as she handed Kushina the baby. Dante snickered at how deflated Minato got as a pale, half-asleep Kushina held the newborn.

"Minato stop moping and look at how beautiful our daughter is, our little Naru." Kushina said as Minato appeared by her side so fast Dante would swear he just used Hiraishin. Minato and Kushina practically glowed as they gazed down upon their daughter as of two minutes. She was a tiny thing with Minato's tan skin and a small patch of sun-kissed blonde hair. Her cerulean blue eyes were shut tight as she showed off a powerful set of lungs. Dante winced as the baby's crying intensified.

'_How can they just ignore the crying like it's nothing? She sounds like she got dipped in acid.' _Dante thought while gazing at the new parents. Despite Naru attempting to match Kushina's earlier screams in volume and length, seriously does this kid not need to breathe?, the two possessed grins that threatened to split their faces while gazing lovingly at their baby, Minato even started to cry. As Dante marveled at his wuss of an ex-teammate, he found himself nudged, rather hard he might add, out of his thoughts as the ANBU, whom he had given his own bundle of joy to earlier, attempted to hand said bundle to him.

Dante sighed and gestured toward his hands, which were glowing blue and still over Kushina's seal, "Kinda busy here containing the most destructive force on the planet, but I'll be glad to stop if it inconveniences you, dumbass." His sickly-sweet tone barely hid his annoyance, weren't ANBU supposed to be smart? The ANBU, a fairly attractive brown-haired girl, had the decency to blush as she backed off.

Dante's words jarred Minato out of his stupor and he rushed over and placed his hands over his ex-teammate's, "Here let me take that responsibility off your hands."

"That won't be necessary."

All eyes darted toward the mouth of the cave where a hooded man stood over the cooling corpses of Biwako and the ANBU. His black cloak shielded every inch of his frame except for his face, hidden with a strange mask. The mask was white with red flame-like markings traveling upwards until they swirled around two eyeholes. The man lifted up his arms to reveal Dante's newborn in his possession and a kunai placed close enough to his neck to draw blood.

"Please back away from the Jinchuuriki or your son dines with the Shinigami tonight."

Dante snarled at the man but stepped away from Kushina slowly. Minato hesitated and looked at Kushina for confirmation and received the barest of nods in return. He gathered his daughter in his arms and stared down the hooded figure while slowly leaving his wife's side.

The masked man stood perfectly still until both men were five feet away from Kushina. He lifted the kunai from Nero's neck and held him out in a peaceful gesture. Before either man could respond, he brought the kunai down. Blood flew in the air before the man was tackled by a red blur. Minato moved to join the fray, but was met with a harsh glare from Dante.

"Take our kids and Kushina and go!" snarled Dante while throwing a haymaker at the man's face, which left cracks on the floor but no visual damage to the man's mask.

Minato didn't hesitate to swoop up the bloody child. As he reached out to grab Kushina and Hiraishin away to safety, a white bulbous mass flew out of the ground aiming to spear him. Not a second too late, Minato disappeared in the telltale yellow flash of Hiraishin with the babies in tow. The white clay-like substance proceeded to wrap around a screaming Kushina and sink into the ground.

Dante glanced over to where his ex-teammates wife used to lay, before looking into the eyeholes of the masked man. He gave the man a sinister smirk as blue chakra exploded out of his body and enveloped him, shaking the room in the process.

"Now I'm going to kill you." Dante spat, his blue eyes morphing into a glowing demonic red.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Minato reappeared with the two babies in a seal reinforced shack three miles north of Konoha. He attempted to placate his still crying daughter by rocking her gently as he inspected Dante's son. Snow white hair just like his father's with pale skin, more than likely due to blood loss. To his shock, Nero slept peacefully despite the loud crying and still bleeding wound in his abdomen.

'_To be this strong at birth… the Sparda Kekkei Genkai is truly not one to be trifled with.'_ Minato observed while applying healing cream and bandages to the wound.

He placed both babies in a nearby crib and gathered up more of his Hiraishin kunai. He stroked his daughter's hair and gently put his finger to her lips to shush her. Naru quickly suckled on his fingers with wide innocent eyes that put a smile on her father's face. He gave her a quick peck on the forehead before teleporting away to stop the Kyuubi from being freed.

Reappearing back at the remains of the cave where the birth of his daughter took place, he tried to locate Kushina's chakra. It was strange, he could still feel her, but something was blocking him from pinpointing her location. He tapped two fingers on the ground to activate his strongest tracking jutsu. It turned out to be unnecessary as the sudden outpour of malevolent chakra gave away her location.

He appeared at his wife's side through Shunshin and looked up to see the Kyuubi preparing to smash them into oblivion. Latching onto Kushina, he used Hiraishin to escape certain death.

Back at his safe house, Minato grew worried as he looked over his wife; Kushina had blood leaking from her mouth and kept mumbling gibberish. There was no way in hell he'd let her fight in her condition, so he placed her in the bed, she could watch over their baby and recuperate. He grabbed his white trench coat with a flame design on the edges and 'The Fourth Hokage' written in red kanji on the back. He kissed his wife goodbye and whispered sweet nothings in her ear. She cried, from the pain of Kyuubi being ripped out or the pain of him leaving he couldn't tell, and begged him to stay. Tears began to fall from his cerulean eyes as he kissed his baby girl goodbye and flashed away.

'_Stay alive Kushina, take care of our baby girl. Keep her and Dante's son safe._'

Minato reappeared standing on top of his face on the Hokage Monument facing his beloved home. Looking out at the village he loved, Minato suddenly felt nostalgic as memories began to flood his senses. He remembered the innocent times when he was just a genin dreaming of becoming Hokage. Memories of him and Dante racing to see who could climb the tree the fastest, competing in idiotic competitions like rock-paper-scissors or who could run around Konoha the fastest on their hands with boulders on their legs, dragging their drunk sensei home at two in the morning, and learning the most kickass, flashiest jutsu to impress each other.

Proud moments too. His near historic ascent from a baby-faced genin into the bingo books as an S-ranked shinobi. The first time he had the courage to ask Kushina out on a date, only to stammer so much Dante had to translate. The first time he and Dante successfully pranked the Hokage and both of them got month long sentences of E-ranked missions. Kakashi becoming a jonin and surpassing his father's tarnished legacy.

A cloud of smoke erupted over the center of the village and the Kyuubi emerged. Minato steeled his gaze and began forming hand seals in preparation for a fire jutsu. To protect his precious people and their home, to make sure the Will of Fire will live on and others could experience their own precious moments, he would lay down his life. A fireball the size of a small building hit the Kyuubi in the ribcage with no effect. The giant fox simply shrugged off the attack and continued with its destruction uninhibited. Minato frowned and quickly summoned Gamabunta to help distract the beast before flashing down to the battlefield to regroup with Sandaime Hokage, evacuation of the civilians and children must come first. Conversation stagnated due to avoiding one of the Kyuubi's monstrous tails taking priority.

"Minato what's your plan?" Minato stared at the Kyuubi wrestling against the chief toad, mind going a million miles per hour.

"I'm going to lead the Kyuubi away from the village and seal it within my daughter, I want you to make sure she is treated well and when she is old enough, make sure she receives her full inheritance." Hiruzen nodded solemnly before looking up at the Kyuubi in confusion. The beast stood on two feet with its muzzle pointed at the sky. Gamabunta watched it with wary eyes as it stopped trying to crush everything in its path and looked almost hesitant. Minato squinted his eyes, trying to see if there was an important piece to the puzzle missing.

The Kyuubi opened its massive maw and howled into the night sky. A wave of demonic chakra followed the roar, destroying any buildings in close vicinity. Shinobi everywhere placed their hands on their ears, trying to block out the noise in vain. Confusion swept through the ranks as the leaf ninja tried to comprehend the purpose behind the monster's bizarre action. What could the almighty Kyuubi no Kitsune, the strongest of all the Biju, be howling for, it wasn't even much of an attack.

"Aaagh!" Minato turned toward the scream of pain to see a leaf ninja bifurcated by a being shrouded in shadows. More of these shadowed creatures crawled out of the woodwork and began attacking the Konoha shinobi. These demons were nothing more than assorted bloodstained sacks stitched together, filled with demonic energy, and giant blades replacing an arm or a leg. Other demons dripping with old and fresh blood and resembling puppets with kunai knives formed out of the shadows.

"Scarecrow and Marionettes! The Kyuubi is summoning more demons!" A kunoichi screeched while fighting off a horde of the aforementioned demons. Further talk halted as all focus shifted toward overcoming the demonic threat. In a matter of minutes, the battlefield became slick with demonic and human blood.

"Rasengan!" Minato roared, launching himself forward with the spinning orb of death taking out several dozens of minor demons. He stopped to catch his breath before charging up another Rasengan and blowing past several Scarecrow.

"Minato! The Kyuubi!" Minato looked over at his yelling predecessor and locked calm blue eyes with frightened brown ones. Curious to what could possibly frighten the feared 'Professor' he glanced up at the Kyuubi and immediately understood. An enormous ball of demonic chakra formed in front of the Kyuubi's maw the size of the Hokage tower while Gamabunta stood on top of the beast trying to force its maw upwards. Kyuubi twisted and used its tails to push Gamabunta off. Proper footing regained, Kyuubi slashed the giant toad's eye. Crying out in pain, he swayed before Kyuubi impaled the chief toad with its tails and he vanished in a plume of smoke.

Turning its attention back to the humans, it unleashed a quicker but underpowered version of its Biju Ball attack. Caught off guard at the Kyuubi's quick recovery, Minato flashed through a few hand seals and let out a quick prayer to which ever deity cared enough to listen.

Many shinobi quickly found religion and stared up in horror at their impending doom at the hands of the Bijudama. A seal formed in midair and quickly absorbed the ball of demonic energy, transporting it a far ways from Konoha's walls. The collective sigh of relief from the shinobi could be felt despite the shockwave of the blast.

"Minato we need to get it away from the village!" Even though he had retired years ago, the Professor still demanded respect and Minato did not hesitate to follow his orders. He threw a Hiraishin kunai at the beast and disappeared, reappearing on top of the Biju. Kyuubi ignored the presence of the blonde haired flea and charged another Bijudama. Minato's chakra spread in tendrils till it enveloped the fox and teleported him miles away.

Sarutobi bit his thumb, summoned his trusted partner Monkey King Enma, and transformed him into his adamantine Bo staff form. Charging forward and clubbing the nearest demon, Hiruzen noticed bubbles of the Kyuubi's red chakra floating. Watching its trek, he noticed several bubbles float and were sucked into the nearest Scarecrow. The demon's skin bubbled and the demon increased several sizes until Hiruzen was faced with a full-blown miniature four-tailed Kyuubi made out of black and red chakra.

Hiruzen gaped as he noticed thousands of red bubbles floating about and multiple demons grow in size and take on the form of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Cries of anguish and explosions filled the air as Konoha made possibly its last stand.

**XxXxXxXxX**

(With Dante)

A miasma of blue chakra cloaked Dante's form as he traded blows with his son's would-be-killer. Glowing red eyes narrowed as the nin either parried his attacks or they phased through. After several minutes of fighting, Dante deduced the masked man could turn himself intangible, but only for select periods of time, which made taijutsu pointless unless he managed to catch him completely off guard. Luckily Dante wasn't intent on leaving the battle as one between fists.

Dante used his alternative to Shunshin, Flash Step, to avoid being roasted by the man's fire jutsu, and clapped his hands together. His chakra flared brightly as he screamed out, "Cast your judgment, Yamato!"

Chakra swirled and condensed in front of Dante's hands until forming a katana sheathed in a black scabbard with a yellow ribbon tied to it. Dante unsheathed it in one fluid motion and pointed it at his enemy. Shining steel gleaming in the moonlight with an oval guard and black and white wrappings on the handle, a weapon as intricate and beautiful as it was deadly. Dante glared coldly at his foe before charging back into battle.

The man simply allowed the blade to phase through him before responding with a devastating backhand that Dante bent at the waist to avoid. The two turned to face each other with the masked man holding his waist.

"Wow! Tobi is impressed. You must swing your shiny sword really really _really _fast if it can cut Tobi!"

Dante raised an eyebrow at 'Tobi', "Gee thanks. That really means a lot coming from a moron."

"You're welcome!" Obviously not one for sarcasm, Tobi flew through several hand seals and roared, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Dante quickly slashed the air in front of him, screaming out, "Judgment Cut." A blue arc of pure chakra shot out and sliced through the fireball with ease. Tobi dodged and stared at the dissipating flames searching for his red clad foe. Danger senses tingling, he turned around and blocked a slash aiming for his midsection with a kunai. The katana cut through the kunai, not a second later, but it was enough to give Tobi time to turn intangible.

"Missed me again, old man!" Dante's response to Tobi's cheek was a quick barrage of slashes aimed for his face. Tobi dodged certain decapitation with a substitution and fired several explosive tag equipped kunai. A horizontal blue arch met the kunai and set off the explosive tags.

"You're pretty good for an old man, old man!" Tobi's cheerfulness started to grate on Dante's already frayed nerves.

"Who you calling old man you mask wearing moron!?"

"Hmph. You're really grouchy old man. Did you miss your nap? Were some kids playing on your lawn?"

Dante couldn't see his face, but he knew for a fact that the mask wearing idiot had a smirk plastered across his ugly mug. "Oh you are so gonna get your ass whooped, you know that?"

"Tobi doesn't think you can lay a finger on Tobi, old man!"

"Cut the old man crap!" Dante roared while charging at the masked man, he wasn't going to take any badmouthing from the man that tried to kill his son. Tobi allowed the slash to pass through him, but the sphere of chakra in his side caught him unaware.

"Rasengan!" Minato roared as he pressed the glowing orb further into Tobi's kidney's. Tobi proceeded to spin away from the attack and slam into a tree. Minato glanced over at his friend who glared at him.

"Why you interrupting my fight?"

"This isn't the time Dante, I took the Kyuubi out of the village, but I can only hold it off so long with clones. I need you to use your Devil Bringer to drain its chakra so I can seal it away with minimal difficulty. Lead it over to the northern safe house, I'll be there as soon as I'm done taking out the trash here." Minato formed a cross-shaped seal and several replicas formed with a small pop. "My clones will take you to it and help you."

Dante gave one final glare at the masked man struggling to get back up before nodding. "He uses some weird jutsu that makes him ghostly, but there's a time limit. Don't let up and you'll get him."

As his clones used Hiraishin to take Dante to the Kyuubi, Konoha's Yellow Flash turned his eyes back toward Tobi with wariness. He had observed Dante's attack go right through the man before he hit him with a Rasengan. How long was the time delay between the periods of intangibility? Can he only be hit with chakra attacks?

Only one way to find out.

"Ah man, you made Tobi make his eye go squishy! Sensei is going to be mad." As Tobi whined piteously and got up off the ground, Minato could see blood leaking from the left eyehole on his mask. Brow furrowing, Minato tried to think of how he made his eye go 'squishy'.

'I hit him straight in the ribs with the Rasengan, how the hell does he shrug that off with nothing more than a 'squishy' eye? His internal organs should be liquefied.'

Minato charged forward and threw one of his Hiraishin kunai. It phased through like he expected, but he didn't expect the knee to his stomach within seconds of his attack. Jumping away, he threw several more kunai while catching his breath.

'Damn near knocked the wind out of me, but now I know he can turn tangible within seconds if there is nothing inside his body. Therefore…' Minato pulled out his custom kunai and steeled his gaze. 'This battle will be decided by who can counterattack the fastest!' Minato threw another Hiraishin kunai, which was parried and teleported to it and struck with fist to the stomach. Tobi wheezed from the hit, but jumped away before Minato could capitalize.

'I only need to catch him off guard so I can hit him. But what's his end game? Somehow he knew of Kushina's pregnancy and targeted the Kyuubi. He set it loose in the middle of Konoha to cause destruction but why?'

Minato could no longer withhold his curiosity and asked, "Who are you?"

"Tobi's name is Tobi, Flashy-senpai!" Tobi pointed at himself and spun ballerina style as he yelled his response. Minato blinked at his foe's exuberance before replying, "So why are you here Tobi? What purpose did releasing the Kyuubi serve you?" Minato's analytical glare checked for any of the typical signs of deceit.

Tobi cocked his head to the side and brought a finger to where his mouth would be as if he was a child. "Hm. No reason. Just that Sensei told me to and Tobi is a good boy, and good boys listen to their senseis." Tobi said with a smile… under his mask.

Minato blinked. "Seriously?"

"Yup! Now prepare for Tobi's super-secret-awesome-jutsu-attack!"

Minato barely had time to form a 'Wha?' before his vision became blurry and distorted. He felt himself being sucked into a black hole and quickly vanished. Tobi raised his arms in victory and let loose a loud cheer.

"Awesome! I killed Flashy-senpai! Sensei will be so pr-Urk!" Tobi suddenly found it quite difficult to form coherent sentences while a Rasengan drilled into his face. Tobi swirled into nothingness and reformed across the clearing, clutching at the remains of his mask. Minato allowed the Rasengan to dissipate and turned around to face Tobi.

"You really shouldn't be so confident, we are shinobi, masters of deception, trickery is all part of the game."

Tobi stood ramrod straight, still clutching at the remains of his mask, before turning to face the Yondaime.

"Truly, you are not a man to be taken lightly."

Tobi glared into shocked blue orbs with a single twirling crimson Sharingan. His left eye still bled profusely while the shattered remains of his mask clung to the bottom half of his face. His pale skin hung loose and it dripped off into clay-like chunks.

"Tobi wishes Tobi could finish this fight, Tobi really wants to knock your teeth in, but Tobi can't risk losing another eye, Sensei would get mad. Until next time, Flashy-senpai."

Tobi swirled into nothingness, leaving small traces of 'skin' and a Hokage to his thoughts.

'An Uchiha? Is that why they targeted the Kyuubi?'

No time for contemplation, Minato teleported toward Kushina.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Minato sighed in relief as he noticed Kushina safe with the two babies. Both babies slept soundly in Kushina's embrace and Minato gently kissed her forehead.

He knew something was wrong the second his lips registered how cold Kushina had become. Minato placed his hands on her neck, trying to pick up any sign of a pulse.

There was none.

Clasping his hands together into a seal, he quickly converted his chakra into lightning natured and placed them on his wife's chest to jumpstarted her heart. No success. Several more attempts did nothing more than fry his fingertips as tears ran down his cheeks. He pulled his hands away and drew in a shuddering breath. Before him lied the love of his life, never again would she open her indigo blue eyes and gaze into his lovingly. Minato, through years of shinobi training, composed himself as he grabbed the children out of her limp arms.

He kissed her one last time and stepped out, tears glistening in the moon light. Wiping them away, he summoned a pedestal within a stone octagon and placed his daughter and Nero on top. He stroked her head fondly, his and Kushina's legacy, and allowed a few more tears to fall. He could sense the Kyuubi's and Dante's massive chakras getting closer to his location. He took a deep breath and prepared himself for the hardest decision of his life, to leave his daughter an orphan in order to save Konoha.

Summoning Gerotora and ignoring his squabbles, he hastily scribbled the key to the Eight Trigrams Seal on its scroll belly. Gerotora poofed away to find Jiraiya and Minato turned to face the natural calamity known as the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

Trees rumbled and the earth shook while Minato waited for the beast to appear. Translucent blue armor in the shape of a demonic knight body slammed the Kyuubi in front of Minato. The Kyuubi had a sickly-starved look and shrunk to the point the Hokage Tower would easily tower over it. Minato had to give it to Dante; it looked like he sucked the beast dry. The spectral knight wrestled with the beast and where the knight's legs would be was a wispy blue tail connected to the demonic looking right arm of Dante. Dante looked at Minato with glowing red eyes and roared, "Whatever you're doing, do it now Minato!"

Minato sped through hand seals and called out, "Shiki Fuuin!" The spectral image of the Shinigami materialized behind the Yondaime. Purple skinned and horned with a large dagger suspended in its mouth, it was a terrifying sight to behold. Its long spiky white hair and white kimono only enhanced the feeling of death the being radiated. A chakra construct of Minato's body, his soul, lay suspended in midair in front of the being as it raised its right arm and muttered some unintelligible words. Black kanji and prayer beads wrapped around its arm and the Shinigami stuck its arm in the belly of Minato's chakra body.

Minato gasped as he felt the Shinigami claim his soul, an ice-cold grip that enveloped his entire body. _'Definitely did not expect this…I could be dunked into the ocean right now and I wouldn't notice a difference.'_

"Damn it Minato! Hurry the fuck up!" Dante roared as he suplexed the Kyuubi on its head. Dante's spectral knight and the Kyuubi wrestled for dominance as Minato channeled his chakra. The spectral arm shot out of Minato and latched onto the Kyuubi. It tugged and pulled as the Kyuubi tried to flee from the limb, but Dante kept the Biju from escaping. The arm ripped out a spectral red Kyuubi and pulled it inside Minato.

Minato cried out in pain as the Kyuubi's Yin chakra was sealed. He felt his chakra drop to dangerously low levels as he struggled for consciousness. _'Damn that took more out of me than I thought it would, the Kyuubi is truly a formidable foe.'_

The Kyuubi, now decreased to the size of a small house, fervently renewed his struggles to escape. The Biju gazed at Minato preparing his daughter for the sealing and widened its eyes. Suddenly, it opened its maw and released a hasty blast of chakra at the blonde. Dante's eyes widened and he turned to scream, "Minato watch out!"

Minato, in the split seconds before the blast hit, merely looked at the blast, looked at Dante's son and his daughter on the pedestal too far away to grab and teleport away, and made his decision. Minato turned and with outstretched arms took the blast head on. The explosion muffled Dante's anguished cries.

Dante made his way to his Hokage while his chakra construct kept the Kyuubi from escaping. The blast burnt most of the skin off of Minato's entire right side and left charred muscle in clear view. His eye melted out of its socket and most of his face a bleeding, charcoaled mess. The only way one would recognize him would be the clump of blonde hair still left and his remaining bloodshot eye. The greasy smoke and sound of sizzling flesh coming from his friend's form made him nearly lose control of his stomach.

"Minato!" Dante cried, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. His body shook as the loss of his friend and comrade sunk in. This couldn't be happening, he was Minato fucking Namikaze, The Yondaime Hokage, he couldn't be lying here dead before his thirtieth birthday, he was supposed to live till they were old and wrinkly watching over their grandkids squabble together. It wasn't fair, it wasn't fucking fair, how could he lose another teammate god damn it?!

"Dante."

The wheezy whisper made him freeze; his eyes hesitated before looking down at his blonde friend. Minato smiled reassuringly, or tried to with what was left of his face, and asked. "Are our kids alright?"

Dante looked up and noticed his son sitting up and looking at him from the pedestal, unharmed and still strangely quiet and Naru crying her little heart out.

"Yeah, they're alright. You're a good father; not letting it hit your daughter."

"I'm glad she's alright. Listen, I don't have much time left, I-I need you to finish the sealing. I know it's too much to ask, but I have to, I need you to keep Konoha safe and seal the Kyuubi into my daughter okay?"

Dante fidgeted and hesitantly asked, "Is that as a friend or Hokage?"

"I know it sounds stupid, but I need to make sure my daughter will be protected if I'm not here and what better way than the strongest of all the Biju? That madman wants something to do with it and I can't risk letting it roam free and possibly be used against Konoha again. Please Dante, you have to understand."

Dante's eyes softened, "Of course brother, I understand."

Minato's gaze unfocused and a shadow of a smile formed, "Brother huh? Yeah I like the sound of that… Kushina… I'm coming."

The Yondaime Hokage kept on smiling as his heart finally gave out and his last shuttering breath left him, permanently. Dante rose from his friend's side, tears soaking his shirt, and looked at the Kyuubi still struggling to escape against his manifestation; he could feel the drain on his reserves, reserves reaching a new all-time low. Dante looked down at his friend's stomach and noticed the visible remains of the seal and the demonic chakra still inside. With Minato's passing and more than half the seal incinerated, it still somehow kept the Yin portion of the Kyuubi under lock and key.

Dante was never much of a thinker, he was the type of destructive force leaders would just point toward their enemies and tell him to go wild. In fact, he always had someone to make these kinds of decisions for him, usually Minato, but this time Dante couldn't bring himself to agree with his friend. How could he expect him to doom Naru, his frickin goddaughter, to the cruel life of a Jinchuuriki?

Not only would he be ruining her life, he'd be leaving his son without a father and he knew he'd never be forgiven, by his son or his wife. And plus, Kushina would be waiting on the other side to tear him a new one, literally. Everything Minato had done for Konoha, all of the adoration garnered over the course of the last war would be forgotten the second 'Jinchuuriki' left the Sandaime's lips. And Dante knew the Old Man would tell everyone too, Hiruzen and Minato had the same foolish optimism when it came to Konoha and her inhabitants.

So was that it really? Kill himself and sentence his goddaughter to a life of irrational hate? She was Minato's and Kushina's daughter! She deserved to have all of Konohagakure loving and spoiling her and then some, not doomed to be the village's pariah for something beyond her control. God damn it, he was a killer, plain and simple, he shouldn't have to make these types of decisions!

"Fuck you Minato, just… fuck you." Dante sighed as the fight drove out of him, Konoha's safety had to come first, he knew that deep down, and she'd be alive, hated, but alive. And his son would understand one day, not forgive him, but understand. Dante glanced at his son, whom was watching him with an inquisitive look, and he noticed, as if for the first time, the interesting color his son's eyes were. An ice blue so light it was almost white with a thin outer ring of sky blue. Dante couldn't remember ever seeing eyes as beautiful as them before in his life. The baby noticed his father watching him and gave a small giggle as he reached his arms up to be held. Dante gave an uncertain smile back and tried to convince himself he had no other option than to leave his son.

Dante's eyes shone with sudden realization as an alternative course of action came to mind. The Kyuubi's Yin chakra would be wasted inside Minato if left alone, so why not put it to use? His son was a Sparda, he could handle the Kyuubi's influence, and he'd be hated for his legacy regardless, this way he could protect both his and Minato's kids and give them someone to lean on during the trying times before them as Jinchuuriki.

Dante quickly summoned the Shinigami to his side and ignoring the Kyuubi's cries, he yanked the remainder of its soul out and crammed it into the stomach of his best friend's legacy. His manifestation vanished and Dante felt his vision go fuzzy as sweat poured out of every pore, utter exhaustion seeping into his bones. The Kyuubi disintegrated into red chakra, leaving behind nothing but bones.

"Now Nero."

His son was watching the screaming and now whiskered blonde baby, but looked up immediately into his father's eyes as if understanding the seriousness of the situation. Dante smiled at Nero and felt the tears come rushing forth with renewed vigor.

"I want, no _need_, you to take care of Naru alright? She's almost as important to me as you and she's not gonna grow up with any parents so it's gonna be tough. You'll have your mom, but she won't have anyone except maybe the Old Perv. So I need you to be a good big god-brother to her and protect her alright?"

Nero stared up at his father and nodded with an understanding beyond his years. Dante felt his vision blur as the tears kept coming and pulled his son into a loving embrace. Father and son held each other tight as both could tell it would be the last time they'd ever have this kind of moment together. Nero's pudgy arms held onto his father's neck, who had Nero over his shoulder. Dante maneuvered his head to keep his tears off of his son's head and he looked at the remains of his best friend and his crying Jinchuuriki daughter. Dante set his son down and tried to keep a clear mind for his next course of action.

"Now I'm going to give you a curse. I wish I could say it was a gift, but in truth it is nothing more than a curse. But I know you can overcome it, you're destined for greatness my son and no one ever became great without overcoming some difficulties. But you won't have to go through this alone; you'll have Naru and your mother. Kushina told me the secret to overcoming being a Jinchuuriki is love, so I'll be leaving you every ounce of love I possess. Make sure to keep an open heart, wear it on your sleeve, and don't ever be afraid to tell someone you love them Nero, your love is the greatest gift you could ever bestow on someone and nothing is greater than being loved in return."

Nero held his father close and Dante stood still, just listening to the soft sound of his son's breathing. 'Tch, too cool to cry like a normal baby huh? Atta boy.' And with that he tore the Kyuubi's Yin chakra from Minato's corpse and sealed it within his baby boy. Dante's last image as he left this plane of existence was his son bawling his eyes out and the Eight Trigrams Seal burning itself into his abdomen.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Tobi walked, dreading what he'd have to report. He knew he was going to be punished by Sensei, Sensei always told him bad boys would be punished, and Tobi had been a bad boy, but he knew better than to avoid the man. Still, after failing to wipe out Konoha with the Kyuubi and losing an eye on top of everything else, Tobi couldn't stop his trembling. He reached the end of the corridor and noticed a door ajar, he entered the room and couldn't see anything through the darkness.

"Sensei, Tobi tried and did most of what you asked but Tobi's eye went squishy and Tobi did bad."

Any more information would be unnecessary, Sensei had eyes everywhere. Tobi bowed in submission as he shook in fear, no point in trying to hide it, Sensei could sense his fear regardless if he contained it or not. Nothing in the room stirred as Tobi continued fearing for his life, Sensei liked to let him lower his guard before punishing him so he remain alert and frightened.

A hand slowly formed from the shadows and Tobi froze at the sight of it. It placed itself before Tobi's left eyehole, despite its uselessness Tobi still begged for forgiveness. Pleading desperately, Tobi watched with his remaining eye as two fingers pointed themselves and plunged themselves into the ruined eye.

Tobi screams echoed, but he did not move from his sitting position. The fingers glowed blue and removed themselves and Tobi clutched at his new left eye. His entire eye socket to his brain burned, but Tobi knew he had been let off easy. An almost soft, regal sounding voice filled the empty silence.

"Do not waste this eye nor fret Tobi, my plans have been adjusted accordingly."

"Yes Sensei."

Tobi left the room and the hand retreated into the shadows. Within a veil of darkness separating Tobi and the man, nine candles sat unlit. The shadowed figure sat with legs crossed in the center of the room. A monstrous creature the size of a mountain sat in front of the figure. Covered in chains, its features were difficult to make out. The figure looked up at the chains and placed his hands in a seal.

"Soon… soon"

**XxXxXxXxX**

(Edited 8/30/13)

**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Reviews are appreciated and the beta position is still open to anyone interested.**

**Blade of Sparda out.**


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